NBA Free Agency: J.J. Barea reportedly agrees with Timberwolves

The defending champion Mavericks apparently will lose one of their postseason stars to the Timberwolves, as J.J. Barea will sign a four-year, $19 million deal with Minnesota according to NBA.com writer David Aldridge. The Mavericks reportedly offered Barea just a one-year deal despite the fact that the former Northeastern star was one of their strongest contributors off the bench last season. In the 2011 postseason, Barea averaged 8.9 points, 3.4 assists and 18.6 minutes per game and was the team’s second-leading scorer in its sweep of the Lakers in the conference semifinals. Barea expressed his disappointment with the Mavericks’ attempts to sign him when he appeared on a Dallas radio station.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be like this after everything we did, after my five years here, after what we did last year,” Barea told the Ben and Skin show. “Now you’ve just got to go with it, and things happen.”

Barea, a 27-year-old point guard, will add to the Timberwolves’ depth at guard, where they have already signed Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio.